Margarita Island was once mobbed with international tourists who loved the sparkling blue water, fine white sand and flawless sunny days. Now, swimming pools are empty, toilets don’t flush and many hotels can’t afford to offer meal service.
Crisis-wracked Venezuela gave the island community of 600,000 a last-minute cleanup to host leaders from the developing world for a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement. But all the attention can’t hide the steep decline the island has suffered as the socialist country sinks into economic and social collapse.
